Our Vision

The only "chemoselective" sense of human kind is the sense of smell. Through this sense we are able to perceive taste, aroma, and hazardous substances, such as hydrogen sulfide. Unfortunately, this sense is evolutionarily hampered for human beings compared to animals like dogs, for instance. Also from a technological perspective there is no sensitive and selective "electronic nose" available, yet. Therefore, we strive to provide a novel sensor technology based on ambient mass spectrometry which does not only improve the utilization in traditional laboratory environments, but also enables the transfer of this kind of sensor technology to industrial process control, forensics, security technology (drugs, explosives, etc.) and the medical "point of care" diagnostics.

Our Team

Dr. Jan-Christoph Wolf

Executive Director

Jan holds a master's degree in chemistry from the Technical University of Munich. He specialized in organic and analytical chemistry and took a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) at the Department of Analytical Chemistry headed by Professor Reinhard Niessner. During this time he gained extensive knowledge in aerosol chemistry, instrument / method development, and the area of ​​classical analysis, particularly in mass spectrometry. Besides, he independently conducted commissioned analyses for various industrial partners. After graduation, Jan conducted a postdoctoral research at ETH Zurich (Switzerland) with Prof. Renato Zenobi and became a leading expert in the field of new ionization methods for mass spectrometry, so-called "ambient" ionization.

Dr. Klaus Wutz

Operations

Klaus​ as well holds a master's degree in chemistry from the Technical University of Munich. He also specialized in organic and analytical chemistry and took a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) at the Department of Analytical Chemistry headed by Professor Reinhard Niessner. During this time he gained project experience at the interface between university and commercial research, by developing residue analysis methods for the food industry. After graduation and a postgraduate training in Life Science Management Klaus worked for the Robert Bosch GmbH searching for novel biosensors to be used in point of care diagnostics and food control.

Dr. Klemens Thaler

Electronics

Klemens graduated at the Gewerbeoberschule "Max Valier" in Bolzano (Italy) with a special emphasis in electronics and communications. Afterwards he earned his master's degree in chemistry at the Technical University of Munich with focus on physical and analytical chemistry. During this time he independently constructed a measuring device for the determination of silicone compounds in gases. Currently Klemens is doing his Ph.D. at the Department of Analytical Chemistry headed by Professor Reinhard Niessner. In doing so he also conducts commissioned mass spectrometer analyses for different industrial partners.